Happy 160th Birthday Jack!

One of the most successful spirits and most recognizable names is, of course, Jack Daniel’s. In celebration of his 160th birthday, the famous Tennessee distillery has released a special limited edition black bottle. One thing that has got me confused, is that, according to Jack Daniel’s (the man) Wikipedia page, he was born on September 5, 1846. Based on this, Jack would have just celebrated his 164th birthday. Now, the 160 could not possibly be in reference to the founding of the brand, since Jack Daniel’s (the brand) wasn’t founded until 1875.

So are all of the blogs (Cool Material, Notcot, Vodka & Co.) that are posting about the special 160th Birthday Bottle four years too late? Or, is the brand just using the 160 because it’s a nice round number?

On closer inspection, the Jack Daniels website posts that no one really knows exactly when Jack was born:

“No one really knows exactly when Jack Daniel was born. A town fire destroyed the courthouse records, and conflicting dates on Mr. Jack’s and his mother’s headstones have left his date of birth in question. It’s customary to celebrate Mr. Jack’s birthday in September – so he gets a whole month. But for a man as unique as Jack Daniel, one day just wouldn’t seem proper, anyway.”

So there you go, there should be an asterisk next to Jack’s birthday on Wikipedia.

As for the limited edition 750ml bottle, it’s sexy as hell. Jack would be proud.

Froosh 2.0

Design firm Pearlfisher was tasked with the job of redesigning the brand identity of Swedish urban smoothie brand Froosh “to solve the ’smoothie confusion’ in the Nordic regions and communicate pure fruit health benefits.” I think that the new look is far improved from the current look and feel (see below for the current bottle packaging design). The old look was a bit childish and ambiguous. The new branding features bold colors with a modern and sophisticated look. Whereas the old look gave off a childlike vibe, the new design grabs at the health conscious adult.

The only negative is that you need to live in one of the Nordic regions that carry Froosh in order to have a taste of this seemingly refreshing and healthy drink.

And for comparison purposes, you’ll find a photo of the current Froosh bottle branding below.

Dexter Coasters

Dexter is one of my favorite televisions shows and so when I saw these Dexter themed coasters I began craving new episodes featuring my favorite serial killer. It’s a good thing that I don’t have to wait too long. The 5th season of Dexter beings on September 26th!

“With a drop of blood from each victim placed between two glass slides, Dexter creates a morbid memento or ”Trophy” of each kill. These Dexter inspired coasters come packaged in a beautifully-crafted wooden box with golden hardware and a slotted interior to display each coaster. These clear acrylic coasters feature an iconic ‘blood spatter’ and have rubberized feet to protect your table. Each coaster is also imprinted with the Dexter logo in red. The storage box has the Dexter logo carved on top and the Showtime logo carved on two sides.”

Buy the Dexter Costers from Showtime for $34.95.

Gilpin Family Whisky: From Urine to Whisky

Whisky is the ultimate man drink, but what would you say about drinking a shot of whisky made from the urine excreted by elderly diabetic patients? I don’t care how much of a man you are, if the thought of drinking fermented sugar extracted from human urine doesn’t make you squint and gag a little – you’re not human.

And if you think this is a joke, well, it’s not. James Gilpin is doing exactly this, not to make a quick buck, but instead to bring awareness to the growing diabetes epidemic.

“Sugar heavy urine excreted by diabetic patients is now being utilized for the fermentation of high-end single malt whisky for export. The Whisky market is growing faster then any other alcoholic beverage worldwide. With a prevalent genetic weakness being exposed in the northern hemisphere leading to a sharp rise in type two diabetes, economists have found a new exportable commodity to exploit and are keento capitalize on this resource quickly.”

“Large amounts of sugar are excreted on a daily basis by type-two diabetic patients especially amongst the upper end of our aging population. As a result of this diabetic patients toilets often have unusual scale build up in the basin due and rapid mould growths as the sugar put into the system acts as nutrients for mould and bacteria growth. Is it plausible to suggest that we start utilizing our water purification systems in order to harvest the biological resources that our elderly already process in abundance?”

Though Gilpin Family Whisky is not for sale, you can get a taste and view Gilpin’s exhibit at 100% Materials, a design and architecture event in London in September, and the Abandon Normal Devices festival this October in Manchester.

Via Wired UK.

Tropicana’s Orange With Rare Cheese Flavor

Tropicana, the famous orange juice maker is venturing into weird territory to satisfy the palates of their Japanese customers. The new Orange with Rare Cheese flavor is supposed to offer a “sweet and sour” flavor akin to that of combining oranges and cream cheese. In Japan, apparently “rare cheese desert” is just another name for the popular American desert known simply as cheesecake. Still, the liquid combination of oranges and cheesecake make me wonder exactly just how the concoction tastes. Admittedly, I’d definitely give this drink a try, though I’d recommend that Tropicana give it a more inviting name.

Cookie Dipping Mug Concept

Question: Why does this product not exist? Alas, the Cookie Dipping Mug is just a concept from designer ENTLO.1A and the inner child in me can’t stop gawking at this marvelous idea. Having said that, I see a few problems with this conceptual mug. First off all, cookies come in different sizes, from Chips Ahoy small to the monster sized cookies they charge an arm and a leg for at Starbucks. I’m sure that once you start increasing the size of your cookie, you’ll run into the same problem as you would if you were using a regular mug (only be able to dip a 5th of the cookie tip). Secondly, the cup is pretty darn ugly. Thirdly, there’s no handle so holding this thing will be pretty awkward.

So Cookie Dipping Mug, I say great idea but poor execution. I needed a Cookie Dipping Mug that 1. has a handle bar (so that I don’t look a 2 year old fumbling with his first cup), 2. is aesthetically pleasing, and 3. expands (somehow, not sure how) with the size of my cookie. Deliver a product that fulfills those three criteria and then we’ll talk.

MelloYello Redesign and Rebirth

So this is pretty cool. I don’t think I’ve ever seen MelloYello sold in Hawaii before but I do remember it as being the brand that sponsored Cole Trickle’s car in the 90’s flick Days of Thunder. Although MelloYellow was released in 1979 to compete with Pepsi’s Moutain Dew, it has been regulated mainly to the Midwest and Southeast parts of the United States.

That’s about to change, though, as the Coca-Cola Company is set to bring MelloYello to the masses (that means the Northeast and Western United States) complete with a vintage 1979 redesign. the redesign comes to us courtesy of Norwegian graphic designer Mats Ottdal and was designed at Stag & Hare in New York City.

My only question is, MelloYello, when are you coming to Hawaii?